TurkoTek History TurkoTek was conceived and developed by Tom Stacy in early 1997 as a high quality web site devoted to the appreciation of textiles, especially tribal weavings. In late 1998 he enlisted a group of rug enthusiasts (Wendel Swan, Marvin Amstey, Irwin and Ginny Kirsch, Jerry Silverman, John Howe, Saul Barodofsky, Daniel Deschuyteneer, Larry Joseph and Steve Price) to operate the site. We discontinued the Discussion Forum and Marketplace because we believe that other unmoderated forums adequately serve the community, and that our site will function best without commercial elements. In late 1998 we introduced "Salon du Tapis d'Orient", a specialized forum based upon the salon. This was a form of social interaction popular during the 19th century. It involved a group meeting at regular intervals to discuss prearranged topics of interest, usually in someone's home. The topic was often chosen by the host. Ours is a virtual salon, with a panel of hosts choosing a topic for discussion about once a week (in February 1999 this was changed to every second week). Contributions to the discussion can be made for about 10 days, after which it is summarized and, a few days later, archived. We hope the archives will be useful sources of information for some time into the future. In February 1999 we initiated an informal board for posting images and comments on rugs that our readers thought interesting. This is modeled after the "show and tell" sessions that are popular features of some conferences, and we call it our Virtual Show and Tell Forum. In November 2001 Filiberto Boncompagni was added to the group that operates the site. In February and March 2002 we added sections for announcements and for discussion of miscellaneous rug-related topics not appropriate to Show and Tell, began archiving selected discussion topics in addition to the Salons, and reduced the schedule of new Salon openings to once a month. We hope our virtual guests will show the same good manners that guests in our homes do, including identifying themselves and avoiding offensive or irrelevant comments. The hosts will have the ability to delete posts that are detrimental to a pleasant atmosphere for constructive discussion. If you have comments, questions or suggestions for us, please send them to me for transmittal to the others. We hope you will enjoy TurkoTek, and that you will participate in our discussions. Steve Price